Chicago - 10:36 pm on Feb 27, 2003 (gmt 0)

Having spent the major of my career in the "contextual marketing" space and having only moved to search engine marketing arena within the last two years, I must say that I disagree with googles motives.

Regardless of what one argues this new service is a reactionary mode of marketing, as opposed to a proactive one. Search engine marketing works extrodinarily well because people are seeking you out and are in the "decision making mode". Contextual marketing necessitates that someone do something that they did not otherwise intend (a least in the overwhelming majority of the cases). The CTRs of the new contextual program will be poor and so too will the quality of the user relative to a SERP listing.

In my opinion this is another example of Google now paying more attention to making money (and lots of it) . Build a critical mass, promote market domination by not bowing to the ad world, and once we receive that critical mass figure out all kinds of ways to make money. This is not a positive development for Google. This a corporate decision to increase revenues.

Google has a tremdous amount of opportunity to make a ton of money but you can tell they are afraid of the contradictions between highly relevant search results and making money. Google is now talking out of both sides of there mouth. "we have the best search" but at the same time "click on those little ads on the side" that are one of the marketplaces poorest examples of a Quality Controlled CPC program. The mere fact that I can set up an adwords program in 45 seconds and be live on the SERPs within minutes dictates the lack of control they have over the relevancy of CPC ads on the SERPs. This recent step will only propagate such problem, leading to further abuse and now NON-CONTEXTUAL content ads around other Internet properties because of lack of Quality assurances. I wish Google would stop trying to play both cards, and tell us they are now more interested in making money and listen to us as to how to do this as opposed to coming up with such services. Problem 1: a 2-3% CTR for adwords is POOR. Get rid of the right nav ads, and give us 5 sponsorship ads on the top of the regular listings. Put some QA in place relative to the adwords programs, and continue to strike agreements with the Yahoos and the AOLs of the world- because the search technology is superior. I go back to the thread that Brett started having to do with the diminishing quality of Google from a search standpoint. I am one of the biggest advocates of google that you will find, but this reeks of corporate profits, not better solutions for marketers. I am sorry of the length of this post.